Written Answers

Wednesday 8 November 2000

Scottish Executive

Health

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what health services exist in each health board area which specifically target members of the ethnic minority communities.

Malcolm Chisholm: Health boards are required to commission services to meet the needs of their resident population including those from minority ethnic communities.

  While the information requested is not currently held centrally, a stocktake of how the needs of minority ethnic communities across Scotland are being met is currently underway. The report of this stocktake will be published later this year and will lead to further guidance and support being provided to enable local health boards and Trusts to meet the specific health needs of ethnic minority communities.

Justice

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it intends to undertake in the light of the publication of the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Real Burdens with its accompanying draft Bill on Title Conditions.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive intends to write to interested parties to urge them to familiarise themselves with the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Real Burdens . We hope that if individuals and organisations take time to read and evaluate the Commission’s recommendations then this will allow them to respond from a more informed position when the Executive issues its consultation paper on this subject. We anticipate that the formal consultation process will take place in the spring.

Multiple Sclerosis

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new guidance it has given to health boards regarding the prescribing of Beta Interferon.

Susan Deacon: No new guidance has been issued. In 1995, guidance about new drugs for multiple sclerosis and clinical advice from the Scottish Medical Advisory Committee was issued to all health boards and this guidance continues to apply.

  The Health Technology Board for Scotland is at present carrying out an assessment of Beta Interferon and Copaxone in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Rail Network

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a commitment to the reinstatement of a railway through the Scottish Borders from Edinburgh to Carlisle in order to address the impact of any future main line rail closures.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is currently considering an application from Scottish Borders Council for support from the Public Transport Fund (PTF) to meet the costs of securing the necessary parliamentary permissions for reopening the line from Edinburgh to the Central Borders. I hope to make an announcement on this and 25 other PTF applications in the near future.

Scottish Executive Correspondence

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for information were received from members of the public by means of its website in each week from 1 August 2000 to date, what the average response time was in each week and whether it is its practice to issue holding replies to such requests.

Mr Tom McCabe: There are a number of options on the Scottish Executive website through which members of the public can send in email correspondence. The table below shows the main mailboxes on the website and the number of e-mails received through these since 1 August 2000. We do not hold statistics on the proportion of email correspondence which includes a request for information.

  


Mailbox


Emails since 1 August 2000




Scottish Ministers


451




Central Enquiry Unit


931




Webmaster


147




Press Office


50




  Consultations and questionnaires published on the website may also contain an email address but we do not hold statistics centrally on the number of emails sent to these individual addresses.

  Our practice is only to send a holding reply to correspondence when we cannot provide a substantive answer quickly.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any financial withdrawals from the Transport Operation Pension Scheme by the Trustees and, if so, (a) when these withdrawals took place and (b) what reason was given for these withdrawals.

Sarah Boyack: This is a matter for the Trustees of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy it has to allow Scottish tourism to benefit from any increase in tourism in Northern Ireland and what the benefits may be from this on a regional basis.

Ms Wendy Alexander: STB is responsible for the marketing of Scotland throughout the UK. I will ask the Chairman to write to you.

Waste Management

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its response to the Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land produced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in October 1998.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer Mr Crawford to the answer I gave to question S10-2461 on 2 November.